Home At Last
by ckpurple
Summary: Back in port after the conclusion of the Samaru issues Mike takes action to try and find out if it was Kates voice he heard when he was unconcious and what that means for them.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sea Patrol and all of its characters belong to its creators Hal McElroy, Di McElroy and Sea Patrol Productions Pty Limited, Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited and The Pacific Film & Television Commission Pty Limited. I'm just borrowing a few of the characters for the purposes of this story.

I haven't decided whether to do another part to this or not so if anyone would like me to continue let me know and I'll see what I can do.

**Home at last**

The crew of the Hamersley had been celebrating their first night back in port in their usual bar. Lt. Commander Mike Flynn had tried to make sure that he didn't spend too much time with his XO but as the evening wore on he found himself drawn more and more towards her. It was getting late when he realised that they were the last two left, the others seemingly having drifted off while he was caught up in conversation with her. He knew that meant they should probably be going too, but at the same time didn't want to as it would mean going home to his lonely house. Then it occurred to him that it could present him with the perfect opportunity to ask her something that had been burning a hole in him for a while. As he was still on a low level of pain killers for his leg, he had driven to the bar and stuck to soft drinks all night. As they were the only two left and she had been drinking he didn't think it would be out of line for him to offer her a lift. So mentioning the absence of the others he suggested that maybe it was time they called it a night as well, following it up with his offer of a lift, trying to make it sound as if it was almost an after thought. She tried to protest that she would be fine as her house wasn't far but he insisted. She reluctantly accepted and followed him out of the bar wondering how she was going to cope being in such close proximity with him. On the ship she could mask her feelings under a veil of professionalism and even in the bar she could just about cope as there were still people there forcing her to remain on her guard but now it was just going to be the two of them with no one watching and no need to hide anything from the rest of the crew.

The drive back to her house was mostly silent as she forced herself to look out of the side window rather than at him, while he tried to pluck up the courage to say to her something he'd wanted to ever since he had returned to the Hammersley. In truth it had been bugging him ever since he woke up in hospital but keeping an eye on the mercenary had taken his mind off it slightly. He tried to tell himself that what the mercenary had done to Charge as well as her bothered him in equal measures and that was what fuelled him on but deep down he knew that while he was outraged about Charge's injuries, as he would be if any of his crew got hurt, his main drive and passion stemmed from the fact that she had been injured too, the fact that he might have lost her scaring him more than he liked to admit. The business with Ray Walsman and Samaru had allowed him to ignore it a little longer but now that, that was all sorted, he knew he couldn't hide anymore, he just had to know if she felt in anyway the same before he went mad. As he drew up in front of her house, she finally chanced looking at him to say good night and to thank him for the lift. He brushed off her thanks telling her it was no problem and as her hands reached for the door handle he knew it was now or never.

"You know I've got the weirdest memory from when I was unconscious after that business on Samaru. I don't know where I was, whether it was on the Hamersley or later but I was lying there out of it when suddenly I heard someone begging me not to die" he blurted out suddenly, causing her actions to freeze instantly.

Quickly turning her head away again so he didn't notice her reaction, she replied "well you know your mind can play tricks on you after something like that", hoping to put him off the scent.

"I guess" he replied "but I thought they said comma patients can still hear even if nothing else." Then realising he was going to need to be more forward if he was to get anywhere he decided to push it by stating "it was you wasn't it," feeling it was a reasonable assumption given how she had reacted.

"What makes you think that" she asked still not looking at him and trying to stall. He realised that this was his opening to say that maybe because he wanted it to be her or that there wasn't anyone else in his life that it could have been but he couldn't do it, he couldn't lay his heart on the line anymore than he had done without knowing he wasn't making a fool of himself, so instead he just shrugged his shoulders. As he did so he realised how stupid that was given that she still wasn't looking at him but she seemed to have noticed anyway as her shoulders appeared to sag in response. She realised that his lack of an answer could act as her out, all she had to do was pull the door handle, get out and walk away, but her mind was racing and she couldn't seem to co-ordinate that level of movement. It seemed as if 100's of questions where all fighting for priority in her haze addled brain, chief amongst them being 'did he want it to have been her', 'was he in his own way indicating that he wanted more' or 'did he want her to confirm it simply so he could set her straight once and for all that there could never be anything more between them that a purely professional relationship'. She knew from past experience that he found discussing such things difficult and that this meant he could be guarded to the point of being cryptic until he was sure that his feelings wouldn't be rejected. Then there was the problem that even if she worked him out 'what did she really want anyway'. Her head warred with her heart telling her that whatever the outcome she was risking everything she had worked so hard to build up but her heart told her she couldn't continue in this limbo anymore she had to know. As the silence lengthened she knew she had to make a decision, so deciding to try and test the water a little more she replied "maybe I was just worried about what would happen if a new captain took over the Hammersley, which shows a certain foresight given what happened with Lt. Commander Freeman" tacitly confirming it had been her but offering up a more humorous explanation that he could choose to accept in line with their usual level of banter should he so wish.

"Do you really expect me to buy that Kate" he asked softly and taking the initiative again he gently put his hand under her chin and turned her face towards him. As he did so she closed her eyes savouring his touch for a moment. When she opened them again she was staring directly into his expressive brown eyes, she thought she sensed a positive indication of his feelings for her in their depths but couldn't be sure it wasn't just wishful thinking, so taking a deep shuddering breath she managed to force out "are you sure you want to do this" she asked looking questioningly at him, her eyes practically begging him to offer her something more to go on or to just leave it.

But all she got was "Yes I am."

She sat there for a few more seconds, the same thoughts running through her head, her eyes playing them out in front of him like a picture show, he could tell her doubts were starting to gain the upper hand. At the same time she could feel a sense of annoyance start to build inside her at his inability yet again to express himself when it came to matters of the heart. Although she knew some of the reason behind it from their previous time together it was something she found difficult to reconcile with his skills as a CO in the Navy, give him a boat, and all that entailed and he could command and communicate effectively and effortlessly but when it came to his private life he was practically clueless. Damn him she thought how dare he expect me to go out on a limb again when he's not prepared to give me anything in return. This growing sense of rage cut through the fog that had settled over her when he had fired his first question at her enabling her to finally manage to find the strength to open the door. But as she did so he also seemed to come a bit more alive as he tried to catch hold of her shoulder to stop her. "Kate wait."

"I cant, I'm sorry, I cant do this" she gasped, wrenching the door open and herself out of his loose grip. He immediately followed her slamming the door and locking it with the remote as he ran after her. He saw her flinch ahead of him as she heard the door slam but he still managed to reach her just as she was putting her key in the door.

"Kate, wait, please" he begged placing his hand gently back on her sholder "maybe I figured it was you because there is no-one else in my life who would do that" he told her offering her an olive branch, a glance at his feelings in the hope that it might be enough to indicate which way he wanted this conversation to go still without actually saying it and in doing so to persuade her to open up to him some more.

She stopped what she was doing and paused before turning to look at him, the look of anguish on her face nearly breaking his heart "what are we doing Mike" she asked using his first name for the first time in along time.

He closed his hands around hers, squeezing them slightly hoping it would reassure her, "can we just go inside" he asked softly. He saw the look of anxiety run across her face, she knew if she agreed to this there would be no more running, if she let him in here she had no where else to go and she knew getting him to leave would be a lot harder but they couldn't go on like this, if they left all this tension hanging over them it could start to affect their work and then she stood the risk of losing everything anyway. So resignedly she just nodded mutely and turning back to the door she opened it and allowed him to follow her in.

They went into her lounge and she purposely took up a defensive position in a large arm chair on the far side of the room, drawing her knees up to her chest as if to protect herself. He took a seat on the end of the sofa farthest away from her, allowing her the space she was silently requesting by her posture.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as if still trying to guess what the other was thinking or hoping the awkwardness of the silence would force the other to say something first. Realising that neither of these strategies were going to work on him anytime soon she decided attack was the best form of defence, even if it could involve committing herself to one side of the line without a safety net so to speak.

"You wanted to talk, so talk" she said first sharply, hoping against hope that it would prompt him into saying something first. Fixing him with what she hoped was an intimidating stare she waited a few moments trying to gage his reaction but all she got in return was a pained glance. She could see he was struggling to respond but she couldn't make allowance for that now or nothing would change. So instead channelling the fury that was still blazing inside her she started "so what do you want from me Mike, you want me to tell you that seeing you lying there unconscious and seriously injured, knowing there was a chance you might not make it scared the crap out of me, well it did. You want me to tell you that no matter how hard I try to forget about you, about what we had, I can't. That I still have feelings for you that go way beyond those that are acceptable between a captain and his XO to the extent that they could get me court martialled, well you're right again" she told him, her voice rising in volume with every successive sentence. "That no-one else I've met since even comes close to you and because of that I subconsciously sabotage every relationship that I've had since we split up. I've tried to move on I really have but its just no good, I thought I could but I was just kidding myself so if that's a problem for you I can apply for a transfer….." she trailed off tears welling up in her eyes as she realised that in the heat of the moment she had said way more than she had meant to, exposing her heart and soul to him and not knowing what came next.

He moved towards her slightly, dying to just reach out and take her into his arms to sooth away all of her worries and doubts, his natural inclination being to show her that he felt the same but he knew that wasn't the right move at this point. He knew it wasn't really fair to expect her to pick up on the indications he tried to give in his body language or to draw assumptions from his actions, to put her through the torture of being the first to say it without knowing with any level of certainty if her feelings were returned, when all of those things were something he himself had never mastered. Past experiences having taught him to be wary and it was something he hadn't been able to shake, he couldn't put his heart on the line until he knew it wasn't going to be stamped on and rejected. Deep down he knew it wasn't something she would do or at least not as intentionally as some other people had. He clung to the hope that she had some idea but knew that in reality it was something which was hard to judge, as in this type of situation there was too much scope for interpretation and confusion. He realised that she needed to hear it in words not only actions, without this extra confirmation there was the risk that she could think he was just being nice and humouring her. He also realised on glancing over at her again that his thought process had almost left too long a pause, he could practically feel her attempting to begin mentally preparing herself for the rejection that she was becoming surer would be the outcome with each passing second of continued silence.

Rushing to try and put her at ease he ended up jumping in at the middle asking softly "why would I want you to do that Katie" the old endearment just slipping out. Despite the muddled start it appeared to have some effect. As the name he'd used seeped into her consciousness her head snapped up and she chanced a look across at him. As he looked back at her he thought he could sense a slight glimpse of hope shining through the other emotions playing out behind her eyes. Almost as if it was an automatic reaction the word "what" sprang from her lips."

Taking a deep breath he tried again to get back on track "I'm sorry you know I'm not very good at this, why would I want you to get a transfer, unless it was so that we could be together without having to hide. Being around you day in day out, the thought of seeing you is what keeps me going sometimes, but at the same time its so hard being able to look but not touch. I, I can't just be your CO not when I want so much more" he stuttered. "And knowing that if I hadn't been such an idiot all those years ago, I could still have everything I want and so much more, I just …. "he trailed off, dropping his head and running a hand through his hair nervously, not for the first time he wished he was better at expressing his feelings, this was one of the most important conversations he'd had in years and he was screwing it up as usual. But he also knew for better or worse he couldn't give up not now so he forcing himself to raise his head again and look at her he tried again, "what I mean is, I asked the question because I wanted it to be you and because I had to know if there was a chance that you might give me another chance, if you felt the same way I do. Everything you said, it reflects exactly how I feel, how I have been feeling since you came back into my life and before" he stumbled over his words again trying to clarify what he was trying to say. "I tried to persuade myself that it was for the best and I could just move on and for a while it almost worked but that first time you came aboard the Hammersley I knew I had just been fooling myself" he told her softly dropping his eyes to study his hands instead before continuing. "It tore me up seeing you with Jim, I tried to be happy for you but I just couldn't do it, it wasn't even that he wasn't a nice guy, I'm sure he was in some respects but he just instinctively bugged me. You're also the reason that things never really got off the ground with Ursula, again I tried to persuade myself that it was a good idea, but she wasn't you and in the end I just couldn't do it" he confessed. I'm not very good at expressing these things but I thought I had been pretty obvious on occasion, no matter how much I tried to hide it. So, despite being such a bright and intelligent young women you seem to have been quite dense on that." He finished looking back up at her, trying to inject a little humour into the conversation as he felt like it was threatening to stifle him. He might acknowledge that it was difficult to interpret body language and actions without any further confirmation but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her a little bit to try and lighten the mood, a significant part of their relationship always having been their ability to banter.

The only immediate reply he got was a slight snort from her but her face seemed to have brightened slightly so he took that mean that he had picked the right thing for a change. Looking up, he caught her eye resorting once again to trying to convey the intensity of his feeling to her thorough his eyes as his previous speech had taken just about all he had for the moment, hoping this time it could act as further confirmation rather than just causing confusion and uncertainty.

The look he was giving her was so intense it nearly took her breath away and it allowed her to hope as she hadn't done for years. His efforts caused her anger to begin to dissipate again and as it did so she began to rationalise his actions again. She could see how hard he was trying and she knew things hadn't always been easy for him, so she decided to meet him half way again. "Maybe you're right, Jim could certainly see it, or at least my side of it anyway, although he did overhear me talking to you when you were both seemingly unconscious in the wardroom."

Although it was him who had brought up the subject of her current boyfriend, he had done so in the abstract not really allowing himself to think what impact he could have on their conversation. But hearing her mention him forced him to do so and he knew that if they were to go any further he needed to acknowledge that so he asked tentatively "So where does that leave the two of you."

"We … er …. broke up, I saw him at the hospital and I was a little distracted as I just wanted to see you and I think he could sense that. He just said we had fun and went to walk away when I stopped him he just came out and told me he had heard me talking to you. I tried to play it down but it didn't work, he just brushed it off telling me not to worry he didn't get as caught up by the fraternisation rules as us navy guys do." She finished offering him a slight smile.

"Oh" was all he could find to say.

After a couple of moments of silence, she plucked up the courage to ask the deciding question "so where do we go from here."

He moved to the end of the sofa closest to her and reached out to take one of her hands in his, feeling no resistance he looked down at their joined hands for a second before looking up at her and replying "Well I hope I'm right in saying that the only thing that's ever been a problem is our positions in the Navy and I know that's still something we have to talk about, but for now I just want to pretend that there are no more barriers in our way, that the Australian Navy and its rules and regs aren't an issue and we're just two normal people who want to be together. So all I want to say is if you give me another chance I wont let it get it get in the way this time, somethings are more important" he responded, his gaze just as intense as it had been a few minutes ago.

She was quickly remembering the power he had over her as she lost herself once again in the smouldering depths of his eyes, leaving her with only the ability to nod her head in response, a soft smile gracing her face.

"You realise I'm going to have to come and kiss you now" he told her.

"I think I could just about handle that" she replied finally finding her voice again.

He got up from the sofa, keeping his hand in hers and pulling him up to join him. As he lowered his head to her, her arms quickly wrapped around him drawing him closer. As he softly touched his lips to hers it felt as if all the tension in his body was flowing out and he wondered again how he could have ever given this up. As the kiss intensified all rational thought left his head and he just gave himself up to the feeling being back where he belonged, in the arms of the women he loved with all his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sea Patrol and all of its characters belong to its creators Hal McElroy, Di McElroy and Sea Patrol Productions Pty Limited, Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited and The Pacific Film & Television Commission Pty Limited. I'm just borrowing a few of the characters for the purposes of this story.

"I better get going" Mike said pulling away from her reluctantly.

"You don't have to" Kate replied softly leaving open the invitation that he could stay if he wanted to.

"Yeah I really do" he said. Noticing the crestfallen look on her face, he took her hand in his and smiling at her continued "don't worry I'm not changing the mind in fact its practically the opposite."

At this she looked a little confused, so he clarified "you have no idea how much I want to stay right now, but this is too important, you're too important to me to ruin things by rushing them."

Her whole expression changed as his words sunk in and she realised how sweet he was being.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow" he asked breaking the silence that had taken over after his last remark.

She shook her head.

"Well, how about I bring breakfast over in the morning" he offered wanting to show her that he really was committed to this and that he really wasn't trying to back out.

"Sounds good" she replied, still caught up in the moment and unable to form much beyond very basic sentances.

"Ok then shall we say about 8?" he said, glad that he'd got a positive response even if it was only short.

"Make it 9 and you've got a deal" she told him.

His only response to this was to raise his eyebrows, as if teasing her for indicating that his suggestion was too early.

"What we're on leave what's wrong with wanting a little bit of a lie in" she enquired a faint pink tinge appearing across her face.

"Ok 9 it is" he said giving in grinning at her, "then we can decide what to do with the rest of the day."

Then after one final kiss he made his way to the door.

*********************

True to his word, he was back on her doorstep at 9 the next morning.

When she answered the door, she was still in her pyjamas and he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face at how relaxed she looked.

Standing aside to let him in she asked "what" feeling a little embarrassed.

"Nothing, you just look relaxed and comfortable its good to see" he said following her into the kitchen to put down the bag of food and 2 drinks he was holding. As soon as he had done so he turned to her to say a proper good morning, catching her hand and drawing her towards him so that he could kiss her.

As they broke apart for air, he indicated the things he had brought "I didn't know what you would want so I got a selection, I've got 2 breakfast bagels, a couple of muffins and a couple of pain au chocolat" he said pulling the items out of their bags "and of course 2 strong coffees" he continued indicating the 2 paper cups sitting next to the bag of food.

"Oh… er… it all sounds and smells so good" she responded not sure what to say at first "but I think maybe the breakfast bagel might be a go" she finished reaching into a cupboard for 2 plates.

"So any plans for the rest of the day" he asked, trying to sound her out on whether there was anything she wanted to do, as they as they sat eating their bagels.

"Nope" she replied after swallowing a mouthful of bagel "what about you?" She continued putting the ball back in his court.

"Nothing, I'm all yours" he replied grinning at her.

"Oh really and what did you have in mind? She asked smiling back at him.

"Well once you're up and dressed" he said not missing the opportunity to tease her again slightly for being reluctant to get up, while at the same time eyeing her pyjamas appreciatively, "I thought maybe we could get out of the city, go up the coast and find some nice secluded beach."

"Sounds good" she said after finishing off her bagel "how about you clean up here while I go get ready" she suggested cheekily. He was about to object when there was a knocking at the door, followed by someone calling through the letterbox a few seconds later. As the familiar voice registered Kate dropped her head into her hands and groaned while Mike just sat there looking questioningly at her. Seeing he wasn't going to get a response anytime soon he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her "is there some reason Nav is shouting through your letterbox."

"Yes" she replied finally lifting her head and looking at him guiltily, "I think I may have agreed to go shopping with her."

"So when you said you didn't have plans for today….." he trailed off leaving the question open

"I forgot ok, she asked me last night before everything and then well I seem to remember someone distracting me quite a lot." She told him trying to throw some of the blame back on him.

At that point Kates mobile started to ring, "I better get that she mumbled" realising it was probably Nikki getting impatient. Answering her phone she said "Hi Nik, yes sorry I'm running a bit late, I'll be down in just a second." As she put the phone down she immediately started to hide the evidence of their breakfast, putting the plates back in the cupboards, throwing the rubbish in the bin and putting the spare food in the fridge. As she looked up she saw he was still just standing there looking both questioningly and smirking at her as she rushed around the kitchen "look can we talk about this in a minute, for now can you just move out of the way, the longer I am the more suspicious she'll get."

"And where do you want me to go I can't exactly use the front door" he stated, his laconic sense of humour coming into play.

"Well unless you want to try to explain to her what you're doing here this early, especially when I'm still in my pygamas, I need you to hide." She told him getting more flustered by the minute.

"Early" he questioned, still teasing her but she just fixed him with a glare so he continued "ok where do you suggest?"

"Upstairs, my bedroom is the first door on the left" she told him. "And you just say one word" she followed up threateningly as his eyebrows raised again at the mention of her bedroom.

"ok, ok I'm going" he said raising his hands in surrender.

"Good, take these with you she said handing him their coffees, and put the radio on when you get up there, its on my bedside table" she instructed him, "its to cover any noise," she cut him off before he could ask

"Yes ma'am" he said trying to give her a mock salute without spilling the coffees before heading for the stairs.

She waited until she heard him put the radio on before going to answer the door.

"Sorry Nik, I didn't notice the time" she said opening the door and letting her friend in

"Heavy night?" Nikki questioned innocently "how long did you guys stay after I left?"

"Not that late, I'm not sure" Kate replied distractedly, "I've just got to get dressed, give me 10 minutes and I'll be with you, do you want me to put some music on or you can see whats on the TV" she said leading her into the lounge.

"I'll check out the TV, take your time" Nikki told her settling into the sofa.

"Ok I'll be as quick as I can" Kate replied rushing off upstairs.

As she entered her bedroom, her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of a smiling Mike Flynn sitting on her bed. His smile had always been her downfall and in this situation….. Shaking her head to try and clear it of such thoughts she said

"I'm sorry you know I'd much rather spend the day with you but I cant put her off now without her getting suspicious."

"Its ok I understand" he told her softly still trying to catch his own breath and to ignore the thoughts running though his head.

"I'll call you later, I don't think it should be an all day thing, she'll probably want to spend the evening with ET," she told him as she started to gather together her clothes.

"I don't think I wanted to hear that last bit did I?" he questioned.

"If you're in boss mode probably not" she replied smiling at him.

"So maybe we could meet up this evening" she continued as she made her way to her underwear draw. As soon as he realised where she was headed, he turned away blushing slightly. As she placed her chosen underwear with the rest of her clothes, she noticed that he suddenly seemed very interested in the far wall and noticing the slight tinge to his face she realised why. She smiled and made her way over to him, placing her hand on his cheek she turned his head towards her before allowing her lips to descend to his. As they broke apart he asked "what was that for."

"Just because … you're ok to let yourself out after we've gone, just pull the door shut after you" she told him.

He just nodded as she made her way to the bathroom still smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Sea Patrol and all of its characters belong to its creators Hal McElroy, Di McElroy and Sea Patrol Productions Pty Limited, Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited and The Pacific Film & Television Commission Pty Limited. I'm just borrowing a few of the characters for the purposes of this story.

Sorry it's been a while since the last part, but the wait shouldn't be so long for the next part.

I don't normally do this as I'm not sure how it's viewed but I've just checked out the stats for this story and discovered that I've had over 700 hits but only 1 review. So I just wanted to say that if you could take the time to leave a comment to let me know if you like this story and if so why it would be greatly appreciated. I know its sometimes hard to think what to say as I'm generally terrible at leaving reviews on other peoples stories, but any comment no matter how short is a great motivator. So while I wont say if you want to read more…. On the other hand if no-ones reading then there may not be much point in me continuing :-)

Anyway on with the story.

Home at Last Part 3

As she had suspected, as the afternoon ran on into evening Nikki had made her excuses and they had gone their separate ways. Rather than just phoning Mike she decided to surprise him by picking up some takeaway and going straight over to his house.

"Hi, I hope you still like Chinese" she said as he opened the door, "I thought I'd return the favour from this morning" she continued as he just stood on the doorstep smiling at her.

"So are you going to let me in" she asked after a few moments when he didn't show any sign of moving.

"Yes sure, sorry" he said moving aside and blushing slightly at being caught just staring at her, but it was all still so new he hadn't quite got his head around the fact that she had given him another chance and this new closeness wasn't just a dream.

"So did you have fun with Nav" he asked recovering himself and leading her through to the kitchen.

"Yes, it was good thanks, I might show you some of the results sometime if you're good" she teased him.

He just swallowed, her simple sentence causing his imagination to run riot as she had intended, so trying to regain control of the situation, changing the subject he said "this smells good" turning to the bag she had placed on the kitchen counter and beginning to unpack it.

****

When they had finished eating he rose from the table and taking both of their plates placed them in sink "that was really good thanks."

"No problem" she replied starting to pile up the containers.

"Do you want a coffee or anything" he asked

She almost imperceptivity tipped her head slightly to one side as if considering it before replying "not at the moment thanks, maybe later."

"Oh so there's going to be a later is there?" he teased her.

"Not if you don't want there to be" she retorted, moving as if to pick up her bag and preparing to leave.

Before she had the chance to though he caught her wrist drawing her towards him instead "of course I do" he told her softly "I was only joking, I have to keep my end up somehow. Now I don't think I've even had the chance to say hello properly yet" he stated, lowering his head to hers and catching her lips in a deep kiss.

As they broke apart for air, he raised one of his hands to her cheek and suggested that they went through to the lounge. As she was discovering that his touch had the irritating side effect of robbing her of the power of speech she simply nodded her head and allowed him to lead her through to the sofa.

"So do you want to watch a DVD or something" he asked when they had sat down.

"Well actually….." she trailed off, not sure how he would react to the answer she wanted to give.

"What" he asked intrigued about the way she was acting.

"It's just that I noticed one of my favourite films was on TV tonight" she replied shyly.

"And that is" he asked raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Dirty Dancing" she replied averting her gaze from him.

"A chick flic" he uttered with a tinge of disgust not being able to help himself.

"It's a classic" she defended her choice.

"Ok" he said after a few moments of silence, making a play of giving in reluctantly, "on one condition."

"Yes" she questioned, wondering why he had given in so easily and waiting for the catch.

"Tomorrow is my choice, that is provided you really are free this time" he returned grinning.

"ok, within reason that is" she replied, still being slightly suspicious and feeling the need to add a qualification "and no I'm not doing anything else" she continued.

"You're sure about that this time, you haven't agreed to meet up with Bomber to exchange make up tips or anything" he teased.

"I already said I was sorry, you're not going to forget that anytime soon are you?" she asked.

"I might, just got to make sure I get sufficient mileage out of it first," he continued bantering with her. Noticing the look on her face in response to that, he laughed before drawing her into his arms again, "ok truce, now what channel is this 'classic' on" he enquired reaching for the remote.

***

"So apart from tomorrow do you have any plans for the rest of the week?" she asked during one of the ad breaks.

"well actually, I'm afraid my sister and nephew are coming to stay. They'll be arriving the day after tomorrow and staying until Sunday," he told her slightly regretfully, he always enjoyed catching up with his sister and nephew but on this occasion the timing was just a bit off. Then noticing the slightly downcast look on her face he continued "you could always join us for at least one of the days if you'd like to."

"Oh, no, no I wouldn't want to intrude," she replied quickly.

"You wouldn't be, I'd like you to meet them, if you want to that is," he told her tenderly.

"I don't know…. I don't do that well…."she trailed off starting to get a bit flustered.

"and that scares you" he asked gently, softly caressing her cheek as her she dropped her head so she wasn't looking at him.

She took a few moments to gather up the courage to reply. She wasn't used to letting anyone go there, she had spent years shutting away and avoiding such topics but she knew she couldn't go on like that, not with him. She had to let him in, no matter how emotionally vulnerable it made her feel, she knew deep down she was safe with him, so taking a deep breath she answer "if I'm being I'm being honest, yes it does a bit, I just don't have any experience of the brother/sister thing."

"That's fine, I know its easy for me to say this but there's no need to worry, Claire is fairly laidback and friendly and even though Jack is only 4 years old he takes well to most people he meets too. Claire split up with her partner when Jack was only a baby and he practically vanished from their lives so I like to try and be there for them both when I can. Just like a lot of little boys Jack thinks big boats are cool, which in his eyes makes me cool by association. So no-one is going to judge you at all, in fact maybe I should be the one worrying as you and Claire will probably start ganging up on me! He joked with her trying to lighten the mood a little "but if it's too soon that's perfectly fine too, whenever you're ready," he finished drawing her in for a hug.

"ok I'll think about it," she muttered into his chest.

"good, just let me know what you decide," he replied dropping a kiss on the top of her head as they turned their attention back to the movie.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Sea Patrol and all of its characters belong to its creators Hal McElroy, Di McElroy and Sea Patrol Productions Pty Limited, Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited and The Pacific Film & Television Commission Pty Limited. I'm just borrowing a few of the characters for the purposes of this story.

Ok, just a little bit of an explanation before I start this part. There's quite a bit more angst in this bit and I hope I've stayed on the right side of over describing things so its not too cheesy but I'm never quite sure. I'm also not too sure whether Mike is completely IC in this bit so I just thought I would explain the way I see him. I see Mike as being generally quite emotionally repressed, he seems to me to limit his 'talking' to the smouldering/ jealous glances that we frequently see from him on SP (which I love) but he always stops short of actually talking about how he really feels. Therefore the basis for his character in this fic is that he usually bottles up his emotions but given the right trigger…. In this case an intuitive sister.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last part, it means a lot.

Home At Last part 4

As Mike heard a car drawing up outside, he made his way to the front door opening it in time to hear a cry of "Uncle Mike, Uncle Mike" coming from the open backseat door of the car that had just arrived. He made his way down the path to greet his guests and was soon rewarded by a five year old whirlwind rushing into his legs and holding on tight while still shouting "Uncle Mike" at the top of his voice.

"Whoa", he said staggering slightly to regain his balance and suppressing a flinch as a stab of pain shot through his injured leg, "hey there buddy, anyone who think you were pleased to see me" he continued smiling down at his nephew before lifting him up into his arms and settling him on his hip, away from his injured side. As his nephew gripped on he turned to his sister.

"Hi sis, good journey?" He asked.

"Sorry about that" she said indicating the bundle now ensconced in this arms, "he's been looking forward to this for weeks and then today well I thought at one point he might explode from excitement! It was all I could do to get him to sit still long enough to do up his seat belt but other than that, yes it wasn't a bad journey thanks."

"Well come on in, we'll deal with the bags later" Mike told her leading the way.

***

"Well I think it's about someone's bed time," she announced after they had finished dinner, noticing her son trying to stifle a yawn.

"Not yet mummy please, I not tired, I big boy now," Jack asked pleadingly.

"Really, well I suppose you could stay up" his mum stated as if considering it.

"Really" he asked hopefully, only to have his hopes dashed again almost straight away.

"Yes, but if you do, we might not have time to go and see Uncle Mikes ship in the morning as people who go to bed late don't want to get up in the morning. So it's your choice," she told her son knowing that she had him on that one.

"Ok, I go bed now mummy," he replied looking slightly crestfallen but not wanting to miss out on his trip.

"Good boy" she said ruffling his hair, "now say good night to Uncle Mike."

"Night Uncle Mike, we go see ship in morning?" he asked checking that he was going to get his reward.

"Yes we'll go to see the Hammersley first thing in the morning; we've got lots of new things to show you" Mike told him smiling as the little boy began to make his way out of the room, referring to the fact that Jack hadn't yet seen the new updated Hammersley.

***

"Ok, that's him down for the night now spill" his sister commanded coming back into the lounge where Mike was waiting.

"What" he asked slightly perplexed.

"There's no use trying to hide from me Michael Flynn, you know perfectly well what I mean, I haven't seen you this happy since you met that woman when you were doing your enforced stint as an instructor," his sister told him.

"I don't know what you mean," he stated, trying to avoid giving his sister any more ammunition but in fact simply subconsciously falling back into what was a familiar pattern for them when it came to such matters.

"Oh come on, you were miserable as hell at first at being taken away from your precious patrol boats and then you meet her and it was like a complete transformation, just like now. Now what was her name again?" she queried innocently, trying to trip him up.

"I don't remember telling you I was seeing anyone back then," he replied hesitantly, still trying to stall.

"Mikey, please you might not have said anything specific, you never do, but it was obvious, it always has been. It was in the tone of your voice on the few times you managed to bring her name into the conversation for what you no doubt thought were completely innocent reasons and in your face when we met up, just like it is now," she told him authoritatively. "So what was her name?" she repeated not letting him off the hook for a second.

"Kate" he replied softly, tacitly admitting that his sister had been right on that occasion, not seeing the inherent trap in letting on about the name of an old girlfriend, but in hindsight he should have known better.

There was a slight pause where if you had looked closely he was sure you would have seen the cogs turning in his sister's head as she put 2 and 2 together. "Oh Mikey no" she uttered.

"What now" he asked slightly aggravated, he had forgotten that his sister seemed to have practically psychic powers when it came to his love life.

"Kate, that's the name of your XO isn't it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, I understand it's quite a common name," he told her.

"I thought the navy had rules against that sort of thing," she challenged him.

"So now you're an expert on Naval Regulations too" he replied starting to get defensive.

"Not particularly, but I do try to take a passing interest in your life," she fired back at him.

"Well to me it seems like your making an awful lot of assumptions, just because I look happy and I had an old girlfriend years ago who had the same first name as my current XO, you put 2 and 2 together and make 5, its hardly concrete proof now is it" he contended, not willing to give up quite yet.

"I know it's been a while Mike but you're forgetting I know you," she replied, sighing at how easily they seemed to be reverting to their teenage selves.

At this he dropped his head and ran his fingers through his hair looking to buy some time, knowing she had him on the ropes so to speak and that she wasn't going to let up anytime soon. It was true he had never been able to hide anything from her, despite the fact that she was several years younger than him, even as a teenager she had always been able to guess what was going on with him. It was something that had driven him mad then and it looked like that was going to be making a return appearance now. So realising that continuing to deny it would only unnecessarily prolong matters, the only response he had left to give was "it's my life", in the vain hope that she might break the habit of a lifetime and accept that this meant the subject was closed.

He had no such luck though when she responded after a moments pause with "Yes it is your life and your life is the Navy; I know it must be lonely sometimes but that's no reason to risk everything."

After a couple of minutes of nothing but a stony silence from her brother she continued "when you're on your own, your mind can play tricks on you, it highlights the good times and just skips over the bad, making it easy to fall back into old habits; if anyone knows that I should," she finished making an attempt to reach out to him and make him understand that she was just trying to help him.

"what so now you just think I'm doing this because I'm bored, nice to know you have such a high opinion of me," he retorted derisively, his rising sense of irritation causing him not to realise that he had just effectively admitted to what he had been trying to hide.

"Ok, well if I'm wrong, explain it to me" she goaded him.

Realising that she really wasn't going to let it go as he hoped, and feeling the need to justify it to her, he took a deep breath, trying to get his temper under control before he started. "I know what you're thinking that it's just some fling like all the others have been but it's not like that, it's so much more than that. Yes I love my job, and maybe mum even accepts what I do now that she can boast that I'm an officer and about how well I've done, but its like you said a few years ago what's the point if there isn't anyone there to share it. You can't have it both ways." He could feel his voice rising so not wanting to disturb or scare Jack, he paused for a moment, taking a couple more deep breaths to help him suppress the temptation to shout.

"Look when I was younger, all the jokes about me being married to the Navy were probably pretty much true and so no-one else really got a look in but … well she came the closest to getting beyond that. When we broke up 5 years ago it was because I still couldn't quite get passed that, … I don't know maybe I just wasn't ready then, I still thought our careers were more important but… over the years since I've come to realise that I've never been so wrong in my life." He paused again struggling with the unfamiliar emotions that were coursing through him, never having been the type to talk this deeply to anyone about this type of stuff.

Taking a few more deep breaths he forced himself to continue, feeling that now he had started he might as well finish. "So more recently she's the reason none of the others have stuck. I tried to move on, to focus back on my career but I was just fooling myself, any relationships I've had were just distractions; deep down I was miserable at best. Even when she came back into my life I just carried on with the pretence. I thought that I could maintain a professional distance…. That I had to for the sake of our careers or it would all have been for nothing. But seeing her with someone else it was just torture and I…I just couldn't do it anymore." He stopped again, dropping his head and just looking at his hands clasped in his lap for a moment, before looking back up at her and resolutely continuing.

"So yes maybe it is a risk but its more than worth it, being with her is more than worth it," he emphasised.

"Anyway I've done everything I set out to achieve and anything else is just a bonus. Besides there's nowhere else for me to go on patrol boats and that's what I love, the next step is a desk job. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but maybe there is more to life than just the Navy, the higher up you go the more isolated you become so maybe having the right person to come home to is just as important if not more so." He told her fervently, his eyes seemly taking on a different glow, reflecting the passion of his speech.

"So anyway that's the way it is and if you can't handle that well….." he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders and dropping his head, exhausted from his tirade and not having anything left to give.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting from her but it certainly wasn't the response he got.

After a few moments had passed she asked softly, "so when do I get to meet the woman who has finally captured my big bros heart then?"

"What?" he asked resorting back to his monosyllabic response in shock.

"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy Mikey and as you yourself admitted your track record with women hasn't been great, up until now I didn't think you'd ever had a serious relationship. I didn't go as far as mum, I just didn't think you were built that way, I just thought that your career got all of your commitment and there wasn't anything left for someone else, which I imagine is quite common in your line of work. I realise now that I was wrong, that despite it being of only short duration your relationship with Kate all those years ago was obviously deeper and more serious than I imagined, other things just got in the way. So as long as you're sure, that's good enough for me."

"Good….." he started to say and then almost like a delayed reaction he changed tack, homing in on her comment about not going as far as their mother had in her explanation of his lack of lasting relationship "hang on what did mum think?" he asked.

"I'm not sure you want to know," she told him hesitantly.

"Probably not but tell me anyway," he replied probingly.

"Ok but remember you asked for it…." she paused before continuing knowing he wasn't going to like the answer, "for a while she almost convinced herself that you had to be gay," she informed him.

"What" he exploded.

"Well you know that she never understood why you joined up in the first place, so she never understood your way of life. As a result she went down the line of my son is in his 30's and is still single so …."she trailed off leaving the rest to his imagination.

"That woman is unbelievable" he stated incredulously.

"Its ok I set her straight so to speak" she replied grinning at him. "Anyway back to my question, when do I get to meet her?"

"I don't know about that, it's still early days" he responded trying to stall her again.

"Really" she asked raising her eyebrows at him questioningly, following it up with "that's a pretty lame excuse don't you think." Looking across at him she could see he was conflicted so she continued trying her best to persuade him "I'll be on my best behaviour, I promise, no interrogations or anything."

"It's not just that its …. she's er not really one for families…." He tried to explain to her without giving away too much detail, the fact that she had the ability to get inside his head was bad enough, he didn't think it was his place to give away too much about Kate's background. Making another attempt he started "her home life before she joined the Navy…." before he trailed off again.

"Well we were hardly the Waltons" his sister joked.

"Compared to what she went through, we were pretty close" he countered. "Its just I don't want to rush her in anything, it's too important to me," he finished soulfully, dropping his head from her for a moment, still not used to talking on such an emotional level with her.

"Ok, I get it but you could still go and ask her," she suggested.

In response he just looked at her seemingly confused as to her motives.

"What?" she asked innocently, having made the suggestion more for his sake then her own, knowing that after all they had talked out, he would need an outlet or he would just brood.

She could see the internal struggle that was raging inside him, as he fought against the desire to take her up on her offer versus his sense of duty that he shouldn't abandon her on the first night of her visit.

"It's ok honestly, I'm really tired after the drive so I think I might head off to bed now anyway, no doubt Jack will have us up again bright and early."

"Alright, well if you're sure," he responded guardedly.

"Absolutely, now go," she told him gently.

"Thanks sis" he said kissing her on the cheek and heading for the door, picking up his car keys on the way.


End file.
